During the fantasy football season, you’ll want to trade players to upgrade some weaknesses in certain positions on your team roster. When trading, you target a player and then decide what you’re willing to give up to get him. Fantasy football trading is a critical component to capturing a league championship. As the season progresses, you need to be able to adapt and pivot based on player performances and other factors.
Use these fantasy football trading strategies to put together a successful deal:
Buy low, sell high (and vice versa). Trading is all about making your team better without making it worse (in other words, improving one area without hurting another). In order to do this, look to trade for struggling studs who you think will rebound. Trade away your average players who have great stats so far due to soft schedules or injuries.
Trade from strength. If you have solid depth at a certain position, you can trade your depth to improve a weaker position on your team. Having a strong bench is a nice luxury, but only your starting lineup can win you games.
Make two-for-one offers. Look to upgrade a position by trading two decent players for one true stud. If you can identify a trading partner who has depth issues or a losing record, you can make the deal work.
Know the NFL schedule. Most fantasy coaches are so focused on the next game that they don’t plan ahead to avoid bye-week conflicts and poor matchups. By knowing the schedule and the upcoming matchups, you can make trades to avoid problems that could harm your team’s chances, and you can pinpoint teams that are headed for trouble (prime trading candidates if you remind them about their situations).
Use fantasy trade evaluator/calculator tools. Several fantasy football trade calculators have emerged online to help you understand if a potential trade is beneficial or detrimental for your team. These tools can help analyze the players’ past performances as well as the difficulty of the players’ remaining schedules.
Be unbiased. In order to successfully make a trade, you have to take an unbiased approach. Overvaluing or hanging on to players because you originally drafted them is one way to miss a great trade opportunity. If you’re unsure, ask someone outside of the league for advice.
Be proactive, open-minded, and diplomatic. A big key to successful trading is your attitude. The other owners don’t want to be shown up or make trades with a jerk. Look to make offers that help both teams, and consider all offers you receive, no matter how wacky they may sound!
